Farming prospers in the great indoors

A world-leader in the burgeoning indoor vertical farming industry has been awarded $1 million from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).

Growing crops indoors – whether in skyscrapers, warehouses, shipping containers, or any other suitable facility – is viewed as a vital innovation in the quest to feed a global population predicted to hit around 10 billion by 2050.

And AeroFarms, headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, is quickly establishing itself as an important player in the field. The company, which is on a mission to combat the ‘global food crisis with technology’, grows leafy greens and herbs indoors ‘without sunlight, rain or soil’.

It will match the million dollar ‘seeding solutions’ grant from the FFAR to advance research that can further improve the quality of produce made indoors. The company’s CTO, Roger Buelow, will collaborate with scientists from Cornell University and Rutgers University as part of the project.

“The work will result in commercial production of improved leafy green varieties and yield science-based best practices for farming,” an AeroFarms blog states.

By 2022 it is estimated the market will be worth more than $6 billion, according to the Market Research Engine report: Vertical Farming Market by Growth Mechanism, Functional Mechanism and by Geography – Global Forecast to 2022.